Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) Receives $200.25 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $200.25.

Several research firms recently issued reports on BMI. Argus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Badger Meter from $175.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd.

Badger Meter Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of BMI stock opened at $226.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 65.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.12. Badger Meter has a twelve month low of $134.06 and a twelve month high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $216.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Badger Meter will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Badger Meter’s dividend payout ratio is 39.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,505. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Badger Meter

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Farrow Financial Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,739,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its position in Badger Meter by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital grew its position in Badger Meter by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 2,636 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives.